The History of Northern Lights MCC
The above clip is taken from The Evening Chronicle, Thursday 28th November 1991.
Our beginnings
MCC Newcastle was born on 27th November 1991, following adverts placed around the gay scene and with the small number of gay groups in the area at the time. The first public meeting was held at the Society of Friends' (Quaker) Meeting House in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne. A total of 16 people attended.
The Church quickly moved from mid-week meetings of four or five people for bible study in people's homes to regular Sunday worship. Services began in early 1992 at the offices of Friend, a local lesbian and gay switchboard, counselling and befriending service, with attendances reaching 8-10.
In spring 1992, the Church moved to new premises as guests of Tyneside MESMAC[1]. It thrived and we were able to offer full worship, including a sermon and communion, although our singing was entirely unaccompanied. We welcomed many visitors as word gradually spread and, although many were simply passing through a number of people stayed to form a dedicated membership core.
By spring 1993, the congregation was beginning to urge the lay leadership to find a worship space in a Christian atmosphere. The strains of dance chart numbers such as “One Night in Heaven”, coming from the local nightclub were amusing at times, but were beginning to strain our patience. People were also worrying about having to walk along a narrow, dimly-lit alleyway to reach our building. We were not yet mature enough to realise that such a heavily male setting as the (then) MESMAC offices was putting women off attending the Church. However, we had grown sufficiently in confidence to start looking for a new home.
Finding a home at St James’s
The move to our present location took place in September 1993. The new meeting-place was an upstairs room of St James’s United Reformed Church (the URC). We quickly settled in, and the Church continued to grow steadily with fresh faces appearing almost every week. Unaccompanied singing soon gave way to piano accompaniment upon the arrival of several talented musicians.
The Church gained enough confidence to start experimenting with various layouts of both worship space and forms. It was decided at this time that MCC Newcastle should always aim to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere and diverse worship in a style of its own that would embrace, as far as possible, the best of all Christian traditions. To this day Northern Lights MCC continues to hold these as two of its core values. This was an exciting time of innovation and learning. MCC Newcastle went out of its way to cultivate contacts on the commercial gay scene. During this phase many of the MCC Newcastle traditions and customs that we still follow today were established.
The Church's leadership team began to establish links with other denominations and with the ecumenical Newcastle City Centre Churches Together during this time, although we didn’t become a full member of Newcastle City Centre Church together until the 2010’s.
Gradually, the Church began to mature. In August 1995, the then European District conferred Commissioned Church status on MCC Newcastle in recognition of its stability and sound financial status.
The congregation by this time often consisted of twenty people or more and, by the spring of 1997, it was becoming clear that the upstairs room at St James' was too cramped. In September 1997 with some trepidation and after much prayer, MCC Newcastle took what seemed then a great leap of faith by worshipping weekly in the Main Church Hall. We continued to grow in numbers and maturity, and to be blessed with very many new members and friends. These included some with very special gifts in important ministries such as preaching, pastoral care, music, and administration.
The Church blossomed under talented and thoughtful lay leadership together with hard work by all the Board members. With the dedicated support of Members and friends of the Church plus the encouragement of our then Regional Elder and Fellowship leaders, we developed a clear vision of the future. In 2003 we gained charitable status, and with that came new benefits and also legal responsibilities.
First Ordained Pastor
Although the Church had decided in 2003 that it was not then the right time to look for a Pastor, a visit in October 2004 from the then Regional Elder, was to change things for ever. At a packed meeting of the congregation, the Regional Elder explained what the pastoral search process involved, and later made it clear to the Board that UFMCC expected its churches to be led by an ordained pastor. In February 2005, a congregational retreat at Durham identified three areas where our Church could do better – in administration and communication, in outreach, and in pastoral care and support. The Board was also aware that with the Church’s growth in numbers and all the responsibilities carried by Board members (as trustees for the charity that MCC Newcastle had become), we had reached the stage where we needed to look for someone equipped to help us, especially in the areas of outreach and pastoral care. And so we put ourselves again into God's hands. In July 2005, a congregational meeting authorised us to begin the search for our first ordained pastor.
Our new Pastor, Rev Elder Cecilia Eggleston, took up the reins on 26th October 2006. She was formally installed on 5th January 2008 in the presence of MCC clergy and distinguished visitors representing the city and church communities as well as members of MCC Newcastle and many friends from elsewhere in the UK.
The arrival of our first ordained Pastor was significant to us in many ways. Among them was the impact we had on the LGBTQIA+ communities and, indeed, on the wider communities and churches of our area. We started to become more visible at the various annual Pride events, for example in managing the Family Space. We took a leading part in running the national event for International Day against Homophobia in May 2008, when it was held in Newcastle upon Tyne. We began to take a more active part in ecumenical events organised by city centre churches. We also became more involved in many social action campaigns and activities, both in the North East (affecting people seeking asylum, who were homeless or in poverty), and in internationally-run campaigns against homophobia and violence.
Soon there was a noticeable increase in attendances at Sunday evening worship. We began to plan our next move so that we could comfortably expand our worship in different ways. In yet another leap of faith we moved into the main church of St James’s URC on 8th April 2011 – Easter Sunday.
It had also become apparent to us, as we moved around our community and in conversations with friends of MCC Newcastle that we needed to be clearer among ourselves and with others about what we stand for and believe. And so it was that we brought the congregation together once more to share with each other our thoughts and understanding. On 22nd April 2012, we adopted our Bedrock Beliefs that reflect our relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and set out our understanding of faith, the Bible, church and worship.
Our commitment to the wider Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches has always been strong. We have always sought to be a giving church both financially in terms of tithes and morally in terms of supporting the work of the Fellowship, including its ambitions towards church growth. To this end, in February 2013 we hosted a Church Size Summit for European MCCs and in the course of 2012-13 we began to develop ministry teams as a way of enhancing our own commitment and stewardship of talents towards growth.
No long-lasting community is without its share of clouds, and our Church has been no exception. Towards the end of 2010, our Pastor needed to take a substantial period of compassionate leave for family reasons, and the Board of MCC Newcastle decided that we needed some spiritual support during her absence. So it was that Rev Pressley Sutherland took on the role of Interim Support Pastor and guided us through the time of absence. Among Pressley’s many gifts to us during this time was an enrichment of our musical worship that has stayed with us to this day.
During 2013-14, we continued to challenge ourselves around our vision for the future. We adopted a new logo and decided to re-name the Church: “Northern Lights Metropolitan Community Church” – or Northern Lights MCC for short. We held our re-naming service on 15th June 2014, although the formalities of the constitutional changes were only completed in April 2016.
In the last few years, our church goals have included an ambition to become a town-sized church with worship that is suitable for families with children as well as for adults. Regular monthly family services on Sunday mornings were held between 2015 to 2019 but due to a variety of factors, including the Covid pandemic, these services are not being held at present.
In May 2016 our first Pastor, Cecilia Eggleston, moved on. Rev Ronnie Rowbotham was appointed as pastor in May 2019 and held that post for 2 years. As with all church congregations, the past 2 years have been a time of challenge, but, under Ronnie's leadership, we ensured that communal worship took place at least once a week via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube. This included a service on Sunday evenings and a weekly ‘house group’. We have also linked up and supported one another via Facebook and Whatsapp.
For the past few months we have been having our weekly Sunday worship service both physically at St James’s URC and live streamed on YouTube. Having the service live streamed has been greatly appreciated by members of our community who, for whatever reason, are not able to attend the services in person, and we fully intend to continue with this.
[1] MEn who have Sex with Men, Action in the Community
MCC Newcastle was born on 27th November 1991, following adverts placed around the gay scene and with the small number of gay groups in the area at the time. The first public meeting was held at the Society of Friends' (Quaker) Meeting House in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne. A total of 16 people attended.
The Church quickly moved from mid-week meetings of four or five people for bible study in people's homes to regular Sunday worship. Services began in early 1992 at the offices of Friend, a local lesbian and gay switchboard, counselling and befriending service, with attendances reaching 8-10.
In spring 1992, the Church moved to new premises as guests of Tyneside MESMAC[1]. It thrived and we were able to offer full worship, including a sermon and communion, although our singing was entirely unaccompanied. We welcomed many visitors as word gradually spread and, although many were simply passing through a number of people stayed to form a dedicated membership core.
By spring 1993, the congregation was beginning to urge the lay leadership to find a worship space in a Christian atmosphere. The strains of dance chart numbers such as “One Night in Heaven”, coming from the local nightclub were amusing at times, but were beginning to strain our patience. People were also worrying about having to walk along a narrow, dimly-lit alleyway to reach our building. We were not yet mature enough to realise that such a heavily male setting as the (then) MESMAC offices was putting women off attending the Church. However, we had grown sufficiently in confidence to start looking for a new home.
Finding a home at St James’s
The move to our present location took place in September 1993. The new meeting-place was an upstairs room of St James’s United Reformed Church (the URC). We quickly settled in, and the Church continued to grow steadily with fresh faces appearing almost every week. Unaccompanied singing soon gave way to piano accompaniment upon the arrival of several talented musicians.
The Church gained enough confidence to start experimenting with various layouts of both worship space and forms. It was decided at this time that MCC Newcastle should always aim to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere and diverse worship in a style of its own that would embrace, as far as possible, the best of all Christian traditions. To this day Northern Lights MCC continues to hold these as two of its core values. This was an exciting time of innovation and learning. MCC Newcastle went out of its way to cultivate contacts on the commercial gay scene. During this phase many of the MCC Newcastle traditions and customs that we still follow today were established.
The Church's leadership team began to establish links with other denominations and with the ecumenical Newcastle City Centre Churches Together during this time, although we didn’t become a full member of Newcastle City Centre Church together until the 2010’s.
Gradually, the Church began to mature. In August 1995, the then European District conferred Commissioned Church status on MCC Newcastle in recognition of its stability and sound financial status.
The congregation by this time often consisted of twenty people or more and, by the spring of 1997, it was becoming clear that the upstairs room at St James' was too cramped. In September 1997 with some trepidation and after much prayer, MCC Newcastle took what seemed then a great leap of faith by worshipping weekly in the Main Church Hall. We continued to grow in numbers and maturity, and to be blessed with very many new members and friends. These included some with very special gifts in important ministries such as preaching, pastoral care, music, and administration.
The Church blossomed under talented and thoughtful lay leadership together with hard work by all the Board members. With the dedicated support of Members and friends of the Church plus the encouragement of our then Regional Elder and Fellowship leaders, we developed a clear vision of the future. In 2003 we gained charitable status, and with that came new benefits and also legal responsibilities.
First Ordained Pastor
Although the Church had decided in 2003 that it was not then the right time to look for a Pastor, a visit in October 2004 from the then Regional Elder, was to change things for ever. At a packed meeting of the congregation, the Regional Elder explained what the pastoral search process involved, and later made it clear to the Board that UFMCC expected its churches to be led by an ordained pastor. In February 2005, a congregational retreat at Durham identified three areas where our Church could do better – in administration and communication, in outreach, and in pastoral care and support. The Board was also aware that with the Church’s growth in numbers and all the responsibilities carried by Board members (as trustees for the charity that MCC Newcastle had become), we had reached the stage where we needed to look for someone equipped to help us, especially in the areas of outreach and pastoral care. And so we put ourselves again into God's hands. In July 2005, a congregational meeting authorised us to begin the search for our first ordained pastor.
Our new Pastor, Rev Elder Cecilia Eggleston, took up the reins on 26th October 2006. She was formally installed on 5th January 2008 in the presence of MCC clergy and distinguished visitors representing the city and church communities as well as members of MCC Newcastle and many friends from elsewhere in the UK.
The arrival of our first ordained Pastor was significant to us in many ways. Among them was the impact we had on the LGBTQIA+ communities and, indeed, on the wider communities and churches of our area. We started to become more visible at the various annual Pride events, for example in managing the Family Space. We took a leading part in running the national event for International Day against Homophobia in May 2008, when it was held in Newcastle upon Tyne. We began to take a more active part in ecumenical events organised by city centre churches. We also became more involved in many social action campaigns and activities, both in the North East (affecting people seeking asylum, who were homeless or in poverty), and in internationally-run campaigns against homophobia and violence.
Soon there was a noticeable increase in attendances at Sunday evening worship. We began to plan our next move so that we could comfortably expand our worship in different ways. In yet another leap of faith we moved into the main church of St James’s URC on 8th April 2011 – Easter Sunday.
It had also become apparent to us, as we moved around our community and in conversations with friends of MCC Newcastle that we needed to be clearer among ourselves and with others about what we stand for and believe. And so it was that we brought the congregation together once more to share with each other our thoughts and understanding. On 22nd April 2012, we adopted our Bedrock Beliefs that reflect our relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and set out our understanding of faith, the Bible, church and worship.
Our commitment to the wider Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches has always been strong. We have always sought to be a giving church both financially in terms of tithes and morally in terms of supporting the work of the Fellowship, including its ambitions towards church growth. To this end, in February 2013 we hosted a Church Size Summit for European MCCs and in the course of 2012-13 we began to develop ministry teams as a way of enhancing our own commitment and stewardship of talents towards growth.
No long-lasting community is without its share of clouds, and our Church has been no exception. Towards the end of 2010, our Pastor needed to take a substantial period of compassionate leave for family reasons, and the Board of MCC Newcastle decided that we needed some spiritual support during her absence. So it was that Rev Pressley Sutherland took on the role of Interim Support Pastor and guided us through the time of absence. Among Pressley’s many gifts to us during this time was an enrichment of our musical worship that has stayed with us to this day.
During 2013-14, we continued to challenge ourselves around our vision for the future. We adopted a new logo and decided to re-name the Church: “Northern Lights Metropolitan Community Church” – or Northern Lights MCC for short. We held our re-naming service on 15th June 2014, although the formalities of the constitutional changes were only completed in April 2016.
In the last few years, our church goals have included an ambition to become a town-sized church with worship that is suitable for families with children as well as for adults. Regular monthly family services on Sunday mornings were held between 2015 to 2019 but due to a variety of factors, including the Covid pandemic, these services are not being held at present.
In May 2016 our first Pastor, Cecilia Eggleston, moved on. Rev Ronnie Rowbotham was appointed as pastor in May 2019 and held that post for 2 years. As with all church congregations, the past 2 years have been a time of challenge, but, under Ronnie's leadership, we ensured that communal worship took place at least once a week via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube. This included a service on Sunday evenings and a weekly ‘house group’. We have also linked up and supported one another via Facebook and Whatsapp.
For the past few months we have been having our weekly Sunday worship service both physically at St James’s URC and live streamed on YouTube. Having the service live streamed has been greatly appreciated by members of our community who, for whatever reason, are not able to attend the services in person, and we fully intend to continue with this.
[1] MEn who have Sex with Men, Action in the Community
